Pune, March 13 Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rohit Pawar claimed that V K Singh, the owner of VSR Ventures, which operated the aircraft involved in the crash that killed former Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, was reportedly trying to alter the aircraft's "black box" data.
He cautioned that any tampering with the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) data of the aircraft, a Learjet 45, will be detected during a forensic audit.
"It has been reported that V K Singh, the owner of VSR company and an expert in manipulating data, is reportedly trying to alter the FDR data (of the aircraft involved in the crash)," Rohit Pawar said in a post on the microblogging site X.
A Flight Data Recorder (commonly known as the "black box") is a device that records various parameters and operational data of an aircraft, which can be used in accident investigations.
The opposition legislator stated that personnel from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) or AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) currently assisting or planning to assist in this activity should note that any tampering with the device will be detected during a forensic audit.
"Once a committee is formed, a forensic audit (an exercise that helps determine the cause of an airplane crash) will be conducted, so no one should attempt to tamper with the data," he warned.
Some officers may have been compromised, but many officers in the DGCA remain upright and honest, Rohit Pawar said.
A Learjet 45 aircraft, operated by VSR Ventures, crashed near the Baramati airstrip in Pune district on January 28, killing Ajit Pawar and four others.
The NCP MLA, who has been raising doubts about the crash, has sought the registration of an FIR against VSR Ventures.
The legislator, a relative of Ajit Pawar, has met several opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, urging them to raise the issue of the plane crash in Parliament, which is currently in its budget session.
The state Crime Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the crash, has already recorded the statement of VSR Ventures owner Singh.
The CID has said that its focus was to ascertain if sabotage or criminal negligence led to the Baramati tragedy.